This invention relates to bandages, and more particularly to bandages that have some degree of self adherency that will not slip or loosen with time when applied to a patient.
Traditionally, elastic bandages made with elastic yarns are used to wrap a patient. Elastic bandages have an inherent built-in in ability to slip when wrapped on a patient, because the elastic yarns want to return to their normal and relaxed state. If the elastic bandage is wrapped tight it inevitably causes circulatory deficiencies in a patient.
A very important functional property of a bandage therefore is its the ability to cling to itself or not slip or loosen with time after it has been applied to a patient. In most conditions, foreign matter, such as metal clamps or other types of fasteners, have to be used in order to hold a bandage in place, but usually do not keep the bandage from slipping.
The present invention has overcome the aforementioned prior art deficiencies by producing a compacted hydroentangled fabric exhibiting some stretchablity with a small amount of adhesive applied on the crests of pleats, created by the compacting, of the fabric. The compacting also allows the fabric to be stretched and to recover when the tension is released. Thus, when the fabric is stretched the adhesive on the crests may appear at random points throughout the fabric. The applied adhesive, depending on whether it is applied to one or both surfaces of the fabric, gives the surface or surfaces of the fabric a slip resistance property. This keeps the bandage in place when it has been applied to a patient.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,782, there is described a covering material that consists of partially extended spaced-aligned elastic yarns sealed between two thin porous gathered nonwoven fibrous webs or between a web and a non-porous film by means of a soft, flexible polymeric coherent binder. The soft, flexible polymeric coherent binder provides the self adherent character to the wrap that prevents the prior art bandage from slipping or loosening with time after being applied to a patient. A disadvantage with this prior art is that it has numerous process steps which makes it very expensive to produce. One other disadvantage is that the prior art is made with elastic yarn, thus, when the bandage is wrapped around a patient, it may cause circulatory deficiencies, due to the tension needed in wrapping the bandage to keep it in place.
The present invention because it is made from a compacted nonwoven hydroentangled fabric, is far superior to prior art, when it comes to being slip resistant and economical.